"One Fish"

SOLD

I am an art teacher, so with that job comes the opportunity to use a wide variety of materials to give my students experience with two and three dimensional media. Each year in the spring I bring out the clay. It is a nice change for my students who may be getting a little tired of drawing and painting all year. Each year I make examples for them to demonstrate and get ideas from. Last year I came across an article in an Art Journal that gave me the idea to create a tile of clay that highlights the textures of the design. I really enjoyed this process and have made several tiles since then, using this technique.

~First I rolled a slab and cut the shape that I want. Trying to avoid a stagnant square or rectangular, I cut it with some curves.

~Then I cut out shapes out of another thinner slab to attach on top of the original slab. I find the design is more interesting if it incorporates 3d forms with the design.

~After drying and firing the piece, I then cover the bisqueware piece with black glaze. After drying it, I wipe away the black glaze on the raised surfaces. The black glaze settles into the grooves and the creases between the raised forms. Then I add the rest of colors. After completing the color, I cover the entire piece with clear glaze. I like the look of the shiney surfaces, so the whole pieces comes out shiney after another round of firing in the kiln.

~This piece was recently sold on Ebay, but I have made several more pieces this year. I plan to keep using this technique and make some others. I will post the most recent ones as soon as I get some good photos of them.